Merchant Mariner

The turbo still needs tweaking and tuning. It performs alright, definitely better than stock, but I know there is more power theret Han what I'm getting. As it is right now, I have to gently feed the gas pedal just right to match the turbo spool. I'd love to have some better tuning on it so you could just put the pedal in and let the computer do its thing. I haven't noticed that I've LOST low end power, but certainly no gain (with or without fuel controller). I would have loved a set of cams in this thing. I may not have turbo'd it if I actually got the damn things, but as it stands I payed for a Set and never got them. Just hearing them talked about rips open old wounds.

I recently took mine to glamis (finally!). It did alright there, most issues where with driver error.....oops! I did have paddles on the rear that are too big/aggressive for our troopers. I'm thinking of stager cutting the paddles to drop the load on the engine, get more wheel spin, and try again. With the big paddles I wouldn't have been going anywhere if it wasn't turbo charged. As for the weight of it and ride, it performed better than I thought it would. The only issue I had with its weight is when I got it stuck. In super soft sand, that you sink halfway up your shin into, I had a hard time finding someone with a big enough rig to pull the troopers fat a$$ out

Yeah, I ended up having to take the front suspension out also, so I could have better access to the joint. Everything got a liberal coating of anti-seize or grease as it was put back together. Also found out how dried out the ball joints were. Ended up drilling and tapping the tops of those to accept a grease fitting and greased them up. As annoyed as I was to have the extra work to do at the time, I'm sure it'll save me hours of work in the future.

Trying to put together a trip to Glamis. Never been there, but I'm gonna make this trip happen. If anyone is interested in meeting me there or traveling with, let me know! Date: 10-18-31 to 10-20-31 all vehicles welcome. Myself, I will have a SxS and a dirt bike.

Alright, good to hear! In this case, I'm making this trip happen....finally. I'll post a ride announcement under that forum I guess, but anyone who reads this and is interested in making the trip, PM me. Anyone got a favorite camp area? I've heard the washes and buttercup are good. I'll be tent camping if that makes any difference.

Double purpose to my post here. 1st - is Oct 18-20th too early to go to glamis? STILL haven't made it there, been trying for 1.5 yrs now! Also, anyone with knowledge of the place that has pointers to get me in the right place....I'm all ears. 2nd - If the feedback is that this date isn't too early, I guess this is a ride announcement also! Anyone interested (provided people aren't saying its still too hot/early)?

its been a while, but I finally got to get back to the trooper and get that cv shaft changed out. I tried the chain method, tried the prying method, tried the axels shaft remover w/ slide hammer, etc. None of the tricks worked..... I ended up cutting the thing off with a grinder and cutting wheel. Yes this took a lot of work and time, and some surgical skills with the grinder but I managed to get it split without damaging the shaft or diff or seals. Really didn't think it was gonna be that hard. Beers easy the frustration, but only after the grinding was done!

Tried the chain method as you suggested earlier, no luck. The previous owner primarily used this in the dunes, so what your saying about having dirt stoping the clip from collapsing may be highly likely. At this point it honestly looks like I'm gonna have to get surgical with a cut off wheel. If I keep banging around harder and harder on this thing, I'm gonna mess up my diff.

Alright, I've tried multiple approaches here. Bigger hammer, bigger pry bar, bigger stick, etc. Still no luck with this thing. I can't understand what's holding it on there at this point. It has slop in it, the shaft coupling wiggles slightly on the shaft. It just won't come off of there. Thanks for the suggestions, I will try again in a few days when I have some more garage time to play with. I tried getting the tool from AutoZone, but they said they didn't have one. Thanks to bruhaw's photo gallery now I've got their part number and can go back in there and get the right tool! Hopefully that will make this a little easier.

So I busted my right front outer CV joint while playing around on the rocks. Luckly I have a spare shaft in the garage, but I'm not having much luck getting the old one out. I have the spindle removed from the outer end, but can not get the shaft off the front diff. Am I missing something, cause I thought it should just slid off the output shaft of the diff? Anyone done these? Got the secret I'm missing?

Not sure if you've read this already, but if not it might help if your looking for an immediate fix. I'm usually looking for a fix that is availably immediatley from local stores instead of ordering online and waiting a week or better. http://www.utvboard.com/topic/2650-trooper-t2-brakes/ addmittedly, not the cheapest, but an easy alternative

I don't know how quiet of a muffler you are looking for, but I used an EMPI clamp on. I think Lenny used same/similar. In my opinion its reasonably quiet. Its similar to a supertrapp at half the cost. The two biggest selling points are that the disc-type mufflers qualify as spark arresters, REQUIRED for off-road use in Arizona (check with your local DFS/BLM/DNR/etc, but its legit in AZ). Secondly, it's low back pressure for turbo those of us turbo charging and blowing our motors. http://www.empius.com/vwcatalog/2013/133.html Check out catalog P/N: 3736 (what I used) or for something even quieter, check out P/N: 3738

If rocmoc isn't able to come up with one for you, try JMC. I've gotten intake and exhaust gasket, cv shaft, and a couple other parts from them. They've been fast and very helpful. Good luck!

I'm just going off a $hi##y memory here from all my research when I was looking to turbo charge, but I think stock injectors are 12lbs/hr, maybe 13.

Dang, you got a strict trail width restriction! +1" total width is a game changer? What about the rears, did you make them narrower or decrease backspacing to fit on the trail? I thought the way they were setup from stock the rear sat wider..... or maybe that was my oversized tires squeezed onto the stock rims.

These are what I picked up. Basically a stock substitute. Great price http://www.powersportsplace.com/parts/sum-161-147115m4/overview/

Sorry, can't help with info on the dominator. Never heard of it before, but it looks pretty cool. Have you guys looked at the Renlli RL800 or RL1100? Those are cool looking machines, specs sound a lot like our Joyners (5 speed manual, 2x4 or 4x4, locking front and rear diffs , etc). And did I mention they are pretty cool looking. Just don't know what kind of support there is for either of those. I like our Joyners and the support community we create for them, you'd have to have something similar with either of these to make longer term ownership manageable I bet.

So are you the one to talk to about getting the vacuum ported fuel controller? How much are those going for?

I'm running stock injectors right now because I only have the standard EJK controller, no vacuum port. When I tried running the 19lb injectors it was too rich before boost kicked in. I'm hoping to get the controller with the vacuum port so I can get the 19lb injectors dialed in. The turbo will run fine on stock injectors and 6 lb boost. I'm trying to run 10lb boost, and I know there's more power there than what I can get because it goes lean (17~18 on the AFR gauge) at 10lbs with stock injectors, EJK max injection. Dedub, how is the vacuum ported fuel controller working for you?

Ditto. I think the vacuum ported controller is the best way to go. I can only get the fueling so close with the standard one. It is either too rich or lean until the boost or fueling catch up to one another. Have you found an FMU with the vacuum port? As for doing the turbo kit, I did mine myself. For my 2 cents I would suggest a TRUE bolt on kit unless you are looking to do a lot of fabrication and modification yourself. Knowing what I know now, and with a lot of help from everyone on here, if I had it do over again I could probably do it cheaper, faster, and better than what I ended up with. A key component missing from any of the universal kits is the exhaust manifold. The best money you can spend while trying to put your kit together is to buy a manifold from Josh at No Limitz (aka - goindeep). If I had it to do over again I would probably get on the phone with him and see what he can do for you for a full bolt up kit specified to your needs . I ended up making own kit, bonus being I customized everything the way I wanted it. Downside is I spent almost as much as buy a kit specifically for the T2 and it took a lot of work to get all the right components and fabrication done.

Thanks for the tip on the oil leak. I will give that a try, somethings gotta work. I'm about to weld a fitting in cause I'm tired of fighting with it. I'm using a T15. It seems tiny, but so far I'm happy with it. All the performance maps and ratings on it indicated it was the right size for our little 1100cc engine. As for the boost controller, I am just using a needle valve. All you need is to be able to restrict the air flow going to the sensing side of the diaphragm in the wastegate actuator. A needle valve is a good metering valve. However, and you probably already know this, boost can only be raised above its lowest opening pressure with the use of a boost controller. For me to lower my boost I need an actuator with a weaker spring that opens lower. Then I can increase boost if needed from its lowest point, say a spring that opens at 6 psi and I use the controller to increase to 10 psi.

Will try dropping the pressure, thanks for the suggestion. Not keen on doubling the fuel pumps and pressure. I know the injectors are not designed to run at those pressures and I fear that would shorten service life drastically. Just seems like asking for trouble. Took the T2 out for some mountain thrashing the other day. It did alright, but fueling not being totally dialed in lead to a lot of stalling when rock crawling with it. Also developed an oil leak at the pan where I put the return oil fitting in. I have tried JB weld around the fitting and hi temp silicon. Still starts leaking when I start bouncing and jarring around.

turbo is in and running. still needs tuning in. On stock injectors with the EJK tuned all the way up its too lean on full boost. Running the 19lb inj. I'm having a hard time with it running too rich. Getting fueling and boost to kick in at the same time is proving difficult. Even at idle with EJK cut all the way back the 19lb injectors are running 10.9 on the AFR gauge. So when I start giving it throttle I have to be real slow and feather it or it goes so rich I loose power and belch black smoke. When the turbo boost kicks in its like a rocket. Also need to get a different wastegate. Stock internal actuator has a lifting press around 13~15 psi. so I'm taking it easy now until I can get an adjustable actuator and get boost pressure down. Still a work in progress, but at least there is progress now. Dedub, how is yours working out for you?

Glad to help, like I said, they've treated me real good. Hopefully they do the same for you. Good luck getting it up and going. Nice vid, looks like a good time